Wright: It's time for Cheyenne to bag plastic

I grew up in Cheyenne and remember seeing my first plastic bag in the early 1980s. When given the choice between plastic or paper, my family always opted for plastic. Why not? We were saving a tree, right?

Now that the bags have become so rooted into our daily lives, we don’t think twice about the number of bags that are used or if the cashier is double-bagging our already plastic-wrapped produce, but we should!

It is estimated that 1 trillion single-use plastic bags are used globally each year – 100 billion in the U.S. alone. With less than 5 percent of them recycled, our landscapes and waterways are becoming contaminated and our landfills saturated.

Dennis Pino, manager of the transfer station in Cheyenne, is also concerned about the impact that single-use plastic bags are having on our environment. He couldn’t give me an estimate of the financial impact single-use plastic bags were having on our landfill, but he did state that the bags account for a good portion the trash transferred to the facility.

One only needs to visit the landfill or drive along Happy Jack Road to appreciate the number of bags thrown away daily. Our Wyoming winds don’t help, but to his credit, Mr. Pino sends out crews to pick up, gather and remove the fleeing bags from barbed-wire fences and private land adjacent to the landfill.

This hit to his budget is only compounded when a bag isn’t recovered, and instead is consumed by neighboring livestock, for which the city is held responsible.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, plastic never goes away. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, resulting in pieces the size of your fingernail or smaller called microplastics.

These microplastics make their way into our streams, rivers and oceans. Fish and other wildlife mistake the plastic for food, and afterward, they may die of intestinal blockage or may absorb the plastic particles as a toxic substance. Those fish then enter the food chain, which includes people.

The United Nations Environment Program estimates that approximately 8.8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in our ocean annually, while a 2016 World Economic Forum report projects that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

With plastic’s indefinite lifespan, it’s alarming to think of the negative impact it is having on our ecosystem as a whole.

The demand for plastics only continues to rise, with production estimated to nearly quadruple by 2050. But if each of us takes action, we can make a difference. Refusing single-use plastic bags and other plastics – such as water or juice bottles, packaging, straws and other disposable plastics – is the first step. Bring your own shopping and produce bags, mugs, water bottles, to-go containers and utensils. If single-use plastics cannot be avoided, then reuse, reduce and recycle.

There is also promise on the horizon with our retailers. When I reached out to our three larger grocers in Cheyenne, I received an enthusiastic response from King Soopers/City Market’s corporate office. Adam Williamson with corporate affairs shared with me their Zero Hunger-Zero Waste initiative and stated that by 2025, they are looking to gradually phase out “use-once, throw-it-away” bags and transition to more sustainable options, including reusable bags.

He went on to say that in 2018, 3.6 million pounds of plastic bags were recycled through 152 of their King Soopers and City Market stores.

The plastic pollution issue is not a far-away problem. It’s here, even if you can’t see the bags flapping from a tree branch, bush or barbed-wire fence from your Cheyenne home. We all just need to think a little differently.

Spread your love for a more sustainable world by spreading the word and educating others. Talk with your family and friends about the plastic pollution problem, and, more importantly, lead by example. As a community, as a state, we can collectively make a difference.

For more information on how our community can improve the impacts plastic pollution is having between the inlands and the oceans, please visit https://inlandoceancoalition.org/. I would also love to hear from you if you would like join me in a further discussion of this topic.

Kelly Wright is a Cheyenne resident and the Wyoming chapter lead for the Inland Ocean Coalition. Email: wyomingoceancoalition@gmail.com.